Nightfall:The Debt I Owe
June 9th 9:50 a.m. Pasadena, Stacy Lee's House AM Arbi: Stacy Lee: She's looking down at the binder, the page is full of pictures of a large old two story house. She turns the page, the next picture shows some familiar faces. Odie remembers them from the police report he read on the case. It shows each of them standing outside the large house. None of them look scared, they actually look like they're having fun as they're approaching the front door. I took this photo last year, one week before Halloween. We were searching for haunted houses and after three long weeks... we finally found Fabian Mansion. She smiles sadly, remembering the fun times she had with her friends. We fell in love with the place. AM Omniance: Odie: He looks over at Hunter, and then back to Stacy. The Fabian Mansion... He murmurs it more to himself. Why were you looking for haunted houses? ...Just... For Halloween? AM Arbi: Stacy Lee: She nods a little before turning the page. There's a photo taken inside the house, despite the sun being out the interior of the house still looks much darker then it should. This is as far as we got the first day we came here. None of us wanted to spoil "the fear" so we left and each of us went back home. She places her hands on her wheelchair and moves until she's facing Odie. I got a call from Yuri that night... The memory plays back in her head. Stacy Lee: She's sitting at her desk with a mechanical pencil in her hand but she doesn't appear to be drawing, it looks like she's writing a letter. Her cellphone starts ringing, she looks around to see where it is before standing up and grabbing it from her bed. She smiles when she sees it's Yuri. Hey. Yuri: Hey, Stacy. It sounds like he's walking around in the background. Guess where I am? Stacy Lee: She thinks for a moment before smirking a little before she walks up to her window. Let me guess... Are you in Trent's room again? She opens the blinds a crack and sees the outline of Yuri outside under the large tree. Yuri: Trent's room? He looks to the side before laughing very slightly. Very funny. Stacy Lee: I'll meet you out back. She steps away from the window, Yuri can tell she's smiling just from the way she's talking. Try not to get caught this time, stud. Yuri: I promise... that's never happening again. He hangs up and turns invisible before running up the wooden fence and quickly climbing to the top of it. Before dropping down he looks towards the house, there's a sliding door on the side of the house that goes into a large bedroom. Misun can be seen inside sewing something while she watches television. He looks down at the ground in the backyard, a lot of it is lit up from the light coming from the bedroom. Carefully Yuri drops down from the wooden fence and lands on a small patch of grass in the shadows, the sounds of him landing are muffled. He smiles and makes his way to the guest house. Yuri: He kisses her cheek before laying back down. I missed you. Stacy Lee: She closes her eyes and smiles. It's only been four hours, Yuri. Yuri: I know but... He sighs a little as he looks up at the skylight in the ceiling. It gets lonely in my apartment. Stacy Lee: She turns to look at him. It sounds like the Brazilian boy needs a roommate. Yuri: He mumbles. Odie would be nice. Stacy Lee: She doesn't quite hear him. Who? Yuri: He shakes his head. Just an old friend. Stacy Lee: She knows he doesn't like talking about the past much so she lays back and looks up at the skylight with him. I can't wait for Halloween... that mansion looks legitimately scary. AM Arbi: Yuri: Yeah... I felt a chill run up my spine when I took my first step inside that place. Even the hospital felt less scary. Stacy Lee: You should've been there when we spent the night at the Ocean House Hotel last year. Yuri: I've heard about that place. He looks at her. Did you see any ghosts? Stacy Lee: No but Casey nearly scared me to death when she screamed in the middle of the night. She said she saw a ghost move one of the vases in the hallway. Yuri: Sounds like the place really was haunted... Stacy Lee: I wish... she got me all hyped up but nothing else happened the whole night. Yuri: Do you think- The doorknob to the door starts to shake like someone was unlocking it. He rolls off the bed and lands on the floor, just out of sight before the door opens. Misun: She reaches inside and turns the lights on, she speaks in korean. I thought I heard voices. Who else is in here? Stacy Lee: She groans quietly and just closes her eyes. No one else is in here with me, mom. Misun: How can I believe that? Three days ago I found one of your friends sneaking into the backyard. Stacy Lee: She opens her eyes and makes up an exusse. He left his skateboard here...? Misun: There was no skateboard, Stacy Lee, he was here to see you. She sighs. Please, you know my rules are simple. No boys after dark. Stacy Lee: She motions to the large room. Do you see any boys? Misun: She doesn't look around and just keeps looking at Stacy. I don't want you sleeping in here. I'll open your window so your room doesn't feel stuffy... She leaves, closing the door behind her. Stacy Lee: After a moment she moves to the other side of the sofa bed and looks down. Yuri: He looks up at her, a little nervous about the whole situation. That was close... He stands back up and looks towards the window, he can see Misun heading back inside. Stacy Lee: She looks a little sad. You should probably go, she'll check on me again soon... Yuri: He frowns but then nods after, knowing she's right. Alright... He looks like he's about to start walking away. I'll see you later, Stacy... Stacy Lee: She smiles up at him. I'll make it up to you on Halloween. Yuri: He smiles back. Yeah? Stacy Lee: We'll have a room all to ourselves. She raises her arms up, stretching her arms on purpose to make her shirt rise up a little. She stops and looks up at him. You can wait can't you? Yuri: He gulps and nods slowly, unable to respond with words. About thirty second later Yuri is dropping down from the fence into the front yard. There's a happy smile across his face and he can't help but to pump his fist to quietly celebrate as he's leaving. As Yuri walks out onto the sidewalk he stops and turns around, feeling something following him. He turns around to see what it is. A dark shadow lingers in the grassy front yard. It doesn't scare him though, it's the Hat Man. AM Omniance: Odie: He smirks as he listens to her story. When she finishes he shakes his head a little, looking up to the pictures on the wall. You know, Yuri was so nervous around girls, he used stumble all over his words. It's funny to think of him sneaking in to see you like that... He sighs. I wish I was here for him... Maybe if I'd have just... Done what I was supposed to... He looks away. He'd be here with us right now. AM Arbi: Hunter: He's sitting down on the nearby wooden bench with the comfortable cushion, just listening in while the two of them talk. After a moment he looks out the window and sees Misun walking up to the open sliding door, in the other house, that leads out into the backyard. For a moment it looks like she might walk out here to check up on them but she instead just closes it before walking back into the kitchen. Huh... Stacy: Done what you were supposed to do? She looks back up at him. What do you mean? AM Omniance: Odie: He silently remembers the morning Lucas dropped by. Yuri and his brother, Lucas, were my best friends... He shakes his head slightly and smirks. They were total losers so I didn't hang out with them at school much... He suddenly starts to frown and his eyes wander, looking around the room. But we were in it together when it mattered... Monsters or demons... We weathered them, and we had fun doing it... We must've save each other's asses at least a half dozen times... And when they left I promised I'd follow them after I finished high school... I was supposed to be here for Yuri... But... I got caught up in everything that was happening back home so I waited... I remember thinking "what was a few months?" ...You know? He takes a deep breath, then looks to Hunter for a moment before looking back to Stacy Lee. Then "a few months" turned into a year... Then a year turned into a few years... You see, my dad was a cop... I always wanted to be like him... So when the opportunity to become a police officer... Was actually real... When it was something I could actually achieve, and wasn't just some stupid thing I'd think about and dream of... I took it... Without even thinking of them I did what I wanted... I remember at the academy there was a guy that reminded me of Yuri... Clever, funny... He never graduated... And we weren't very close, but... He made me think... "I'll work my hardest, then get a job in L.A. and I'll be able to see them whenever I want. We'll be friends again, like old times." He smirks a little. So I finished up the academy and moved to Santa Monica... That was six months ago... His smirk fades and he shakes his head a little. And it took seeing a mass-homicide with Yuri's name on it to finally get me to set aside the time and try to find him, and talk with his brother... Sometimes you don't realize how selfish you're being until after the fact. He looks down and rubs his back, where Yuri stabbed him. I should've been here for him. AM Arbi: Stacy Lee: She slowly looks down and away from him when he mentions the mass-homicide. I'm actually glad you weren't here... otherwise you may have ended up like all the others. She trails her fingers across the wheel of her chair. I'm lucky to be alive... AM Omniance: Odie: How did all of this happen? Yuri knows not to fuck with demons... He shakes his head. As if being tethered to one wasn't enough... AM Arbi: Stacy Lee: Halloween night flashes throughout her mind and the months that followed but the memories are beginning to become too painful for her. She remembers hearing one of her friends screaming suddenly just after Yuri stabbed Trent in the back. She closes her eyes and brings her hand up to her face to cover her tears. I'm... I'm sorry... AM Omniance: Odie: He pulls a blue handkerchief out of his pocket and holds it out to her. AM Arbi: Stacy Lee: She looks at it and feels a little silly about someone his age having a handkerchief on him. She can't help but to smile briefly ...Thanks. She takes the handkerchief and dries her tears. AM Omniance: Odie: He knows she thinks it's silly, but it's a habit he decided to copy from Murdoc over the years after seeing him do it. I guess it really doesn't matter how it happened... How do we fix it? He looks at Hunter and lets out a quiet sigh. AM Arbi: Stacy Lee: She lowers her hands to her lap and just looks at the handkerchief while she thinks. I think Yuri is the only one who can fix this... AM | Edited 5:12:46 AM Omniance: Odie: But he's the one that's possessed... Unless we can find a way to talk to him... Though we'd need something more 'round about... It's obvious that speaking to him directly isn't going to get us anywhere... AM Arbi: Stacy Lee: Possessed... She looks back up at Odie. These shadow powers he gave us weren't gifts like Yuri thought they were... when we made that pact with the Hat Man he put a small part of himself in each of us. At the time we didn't think anything of it... we each felt like super heroes. But there were rules we had to figure out ourselves. The worst one being "Stay out of the sun." AM Omniance: Odie: What happens in the sun? He thinks for a moment that they might be similar to vampires. AM Arbi: Stacy Lee: What happens when someone opens the curtains in your room when you're still asleep? AM Omniance: Odie: They wake me up, and I get annoyed. He looks at Hunter, almost blamingly. AM Arbi: Stacy Lee: That's what happens when we stay out in the sun too long... the monster wakes up. AM Omniance: Odie: So we need to get Yuri back into the darkness... He shakes his head. ...But when I found him, he was in the darkest part of a basement. AM Arbi: Stacy Lee: She turns her wheelchair around so she's looking at the photos on the wall. Whenever I walk around in the sun for too long my skin starts to hurt. It's like a warning sign but going back into the shadows doesn't fix it right away, it takes a few hours... sometimes an entire night. She looks back at Odie. I'm guessing it's the same way for Yuri. Someone would need to trap him in the darkness for him to go back to normal... but that's just speculation. AM Omniance: Odie: He thinks back to the abandoned building yesterday. When I found it'd looked like he had been kept prisoner, locked up for a while, in the darkness of a basement... He could've been down there for days, weeks even. He sighs. We're going to need to capture him and keep him locked somewhere dark... For who knows how long... He nods. AM Arbi: Hunter: He crosses his arms. He tried to kill you the last time you saw him. It's too dangerous. AM Omniance: Odie: He rolls his eyes. If I ran away from danger every time it popped up, I wouldn't be friends with Lucas. AM | Edited 5:45:08 AM Arbi: Stacy Lee: She moves her wheelchair back up to the wooden table and closes the binder. He only kills the people closest to Yuri but If you stay away from him... he won't come after you. That's why I think he hasn't come back for me... She places the binder on her lap and starts wheeling herself across the room slowly. AM Omniance: Odie: So what should I do then? It's obvious that he'll try to kill me, he almost did once already. He looks at Hunter, then back to Stacy Lee. But I don't really trust anyone else to track him down. AM Arbi: Stacy Lee: I've wanted to help Yuri for a long time but... at the same time I don't think he wants to be helped. She wheels herself up to the guest house front door and opens it. Even If you did figure out a way to save him, is it worth risking all your friend's lives to save one person? AM Omniance: Odie: He smirks slightly. We've been through a lot of things like this... Risked our lives a few times before... Like I said earlier, I was possessed by a demon, and Yuri risked his life to save me from it. If I die trying to save him... Then... He shrugs a little. ...I died trying, you know? I owe him this debt, and I'd be a really shitty person if I didn't do everything to repay it in full. AM Arbi: Stacy Lee: She smiles slightly. You sound like a cool guy, Odie. Yuri's lucky to have had a friend like you. She moves her wheelchair through the front door and makes her way back to the patio of the main house. AM Omniance: Odie: He frowns when she says "have had", speaking in the passed tense upsets him slightly. He looks over at Hunter. What do you think small fry? Think I'm overdoing this? AM | Edited 6:10:22 AM Arbi: Hunter: He stands up from the wooden bench. I'm not a small fry. He walks up to him. And I think you need to keep trying. Yuri wouldn't give up on you. AM Omniance: Odie: He smiles and reaches out, wrapping his arm around Hunter's shoulder, he squeezes him across the back a little. I'm glad you're here with me. He messes up Hunter's hair a little with his other hand. I missed having you around. AM Arbi: Hunter: He starts looking annoyed when he messes up his hair and reaches into his own pocket, taking out a joint. Did you miss this? AM Omniance: Odie: Oh... No! He pulls his hand away and puts the back of it to his forehead, turning and backing away towards the door. My weakness! He holds out his other hand. Sweet Mary Jane, it's been months since last we danced... AM | Edited 6:20:29 AM Arbi: Hunter: He watches him back away dramatically. I'll give it to you if you stop messing up my hair. AM Omniance: Odie: He snatches it from Hunter's hand and holds it up in front of him. Where'd you get this anyway? He turns and walks out of the guest house and into the backyard. AM Arbi: Hunter: He walks with him out of the guest house. I started growing them after you left. They always grow perfect... you can thank Tate for that. AM Omniance: Odie: I should've known you two would be up to no good... He shakes his head and puts the blunt into his pocket. I never thought I'd have to arrest my own brother... AM Arbi: Hunter: I'm five, they'll just give me a slap on the wrist.